"Help!" for: Fiberglassing, Resin, & Bondo

[Katsu]

Once you start learning more advanced tricks, it really does become the all in wonder. Unlike most other art stuff, you can infinitely add and remove from it without really noticable consequences (since we're not in the auto industry, we won't expose our suits to such stresses).

Check out cereal's video tutorials. They are the absolutely best, exhaustive work but they teach you ALL of the best tricks for bondo and resin:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...-Chief-**-A-Step-By-Step-Tutorial-(My-Way)-**

 

[surename]

I don't think there are any stupid questions when it comes to things this complicated. Bondo is used to smooth out all the shapes that are in the pep model. It can also be used to add more detail to the piece, such as in game detail that wasn't included with the pep file itself. Also it just makes the helmet look so much better when it comes to paint, the helmet or whatever you are working on would have a lot of sharp corners that would make the piece look unprofessional.

 

[TheSlammerss]

I don't think there are any stupid questions when it comes to things this complicated. Bondo is used to smooth out all the shapes that are in the pep model. It can also be used to add more detail to the piece, such as in game detail that wasn't included with the pep file itself. Also it just makes the helmet look so much better when it comes to paint, the helmet or whatever you are working on would have a lot of sharp corners that would make the piece look unprofessional.

To add on don't I repeate do not glop bondo on ur piece all at once... Not that I did that or anything >_>. Work in small sections and when ur through and finished to ur liking then move on

 

[Ruse01]

Hi everyone,
I've been lurking around the threads for a while now and have been inspired to make my own attempt at a M IV helmet, it turned out alil warped as i didnt put the support struts in and afew issues with glue dry times. Anyway, ive decided to complete it anyway as its going to be a decent practice piece and good to learn on. I have resined the outside and inside, fiberglassed 95% of the inside and plan to finish of fiberglassing the inside on sunday before i attempt to fix any warping with (Bondo).

So my noob question is "What is Bondo?" is it body fill that panel beaters use or something else? You see im from Australia and im not sure if Bondo is just a generic name for a product or if its and actual products name.

Thanks in advance and im sorry if this has been answered before

 

[Halex]

Hi everyone,
I've been lurking around the threads for a while now and have been inspired to make my own attempt at a M IV helmet, it turned out alil warped as i didnt put the support struts in and afew issues with glue dry times. Anyway, ive decided to complete it anyway as its going to be a decent practice piece and good to learn on. I have resined the outside and inside, fiberglassed 95% of the inside and plan to finish of fiberglassing the inside on sunday before i attempt to fix any warping with (Bondo).

So my noob question is "What is Bondo?" is it body fill that panel beaters use or something else? You see im from Australia and im not sure if Bondo is just a generic name for a product or if its and actual products name.

Thanks in advance and im sorry if this has been answered before

Bondo is the US brand name for the product. I'm sure one of the Australian members can verify, but other places it's referred to as "body filler".

 

[Ruse01]

Bondo is the US brand name for the product. I'm sure one of the Australian members can verify, but other places it's referred to as "body filler".

Thank god you said that because thats what i bought lol, thanks for the speedy reply

 

[Katsu]

I've heard (but not confirmed) that it can be called "bog" in australia. But any auto store there can help point you to a good brand if you use the generic term "body filler" as mentioned above.

 

[GallopingConch]

Hm...I was gonna go at this a while back but then some stuff happened with life to interfere and motivation was lost. Now I'm feeling a particular spark of actually doing something coming on, but I have a couple questions.

I live in Wisconsin. Needless to say, it's pretty chilly around here. According to my phone it's been anywhere between 10 and 30 degrees on average. I bought some resin in fall before it got chilly, and the can says to cure at 75 degrees, and for best results to apply above 45 degrees. Obviously my weather's a bit lower. I've read a little about makeshift hotboxes and such, which I could do, but I'm wondering if anybody has some experience working with the resin at lower temps. Will it work out if I go for it in the colder weather and just hotbox my piece, or should I wait a while for the weather to warm up and risk my motivation failing?

Also, the fact that I bought my resin in Fall shouldn't be a problem should it? I haven't opened it or really done a thing with it. Should still be good, right?

 

[misfitjh]

When you bought it will have no effect on it. It does have some what of a shelf life after it's open, but that's years. As for working in the cold, I live in Canada so I've worked with this stuff close to freezing temps, the best advice I can give is to build the hot box for curing and also warm up the resin before mixing. There are several ways to do that, a pale of hot water and immerse the can, I've seem guys use a hot plate(not recommended), but what I do is pour the resin into my mixing cup and warm it with a hair dryer then add the hardener and use right away.

 

[boricuaspartan]

Hey guys. I've been on and off the 405th forums for a few years now, but just registered with the site about a week ago and for the past year have been working on a Halo costume I'm planning on wearing to Comic Con this year. It's taken me a lot longer then I would've liked, but I finally got around to the step in the armor process where I start applying resin, bondo, spot putty, etc. to make the helmet nice and smooth and firm. Now, this is the first time I've ever made Halo armor (let alone a costume period) and I had no problems applying the resin on the inside and outside of the helmet or applying the fiberglass cloth pieces to the inside of the helmet as well. The bondo however was a little bit messy and when it dried up, it got really clumpy. Even though I spread it out as much as I could. My question is when I wetsand the helmet, will that get rid of all the clumpiness the bondo caused? And if not, what are some things I can do to fix the clumpiness caused by the bondo? Also, would you all even recommend putting bondo on the armor at all? Because seeing how troublesome it's been so far, I'm debating wether or not I even want to bother applying any bondo with my next armor piece.

 

[armageddon42388]

Not sure if it belongs in this thread, but what is the best way to make detail lines in bondo? For example, the panel-ish lines on a helmet. Is there some useful tool, like a pick or scraper of some sort? Or should I just be really careful with a dremel?

 

[Katsu]

You can either use a credit card while it's still wet, or a dremel when it's dry. Both require a degree of care, but remember! Bondo can easily be infinitely cut away and replaced (basically), so if it looks crooked, patch it and cut again!

Hey guys. I've been on and off the 405th forums for a few years now, but just registered with the site about a week ago and for the past year have been working on a Halo costume I'm planning on wearing to Comic Con this year. It's taken me a lot longer then I would've liked, but I finally got around to the step in the armor process where I start applying resin, bondo, spot putty, etc. to make the helmet nice and smooth and firm. Now, this is the first time I've ever made Halo armor (let alone a costume period) and I had no problems applying the resin on the inside and outside of the helmet or applying the fiberglass cloth pieces to the inside of the helmet as well. The bondo however was a little bit messy and when it dried up, it got really clumpy. Even though I spread it out as much as I could. My question is when I wetsand the helmet, will that get rid of all the clumpiness the bondo caused? And if not, what are some things I can do to fix the clumpiness caused by the bondo? Also, would you all even recommend putting bondo on the armor at all? Because seeing how troublesome it's been so far, I'm debating wether or not I even want to bother applying any bondo with my next armor piece.

I hope you read this, I didn't see it until much later than when I first posted this reply, and I felt guilty double posting just to bump!
It should not be clumpy. You absolutely should apply bondo if you want the armor to be smoother and lose the "polygon" look pep has. But if you can tolerate the look, you certainly can just bypass bondo and paint it.

If you have a bit of time, watch Cereal's videos on bondo. They absolutely lay out a great method for smooth application and sanding of bondo, it will give you a better idea of what you are doing right and wrong:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...-Chief-**-A-Step-By-Step-Tutorial-(My-Way)-**

 

[boricuaspartan]

I hope you read this, I didn't see it until much later than when I first posted this reply, and I felt guilty double posting just to bump!
It should not be clumpy. You absolutely should apply bondo if you want the armor to be smoother and lose the "polygon" look pep has. But if you can tolerate the look, you certainly can just bypass bondo and paint it.

If you have a bit of time, watch Cereal's videos on bondo. They absolutely lay out a great method for smooth application and sanding of bondo, it will give you a better idea of what you are doing right and wrong:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...-Chief-**-A-Step-By-Step-Tutorial-(My-Way)-**

Absolutly. I'll definetly take a look at the vid later on today and see what I can find out. I appreciate it.

 

[theBR1T1SHkid]

I have had a look through this thread but can't seem to find what I'm looking for (though I am sure it is in here somewhere). I know that I need to reinforce my armor pieces before I resin them and it has been suggested that I use bamboo/kebab sticks to do this. My question: how exactly am I supposed to do this? Do I need to hot glue these across the inside of the armor pieces? If so, once the armor has been resined is there a way to cut them out or remove them without having lumps of hot glue inside the armor? If this makes no sense I'll try and clarify things, otherwise thanks for taking the time to read and/or respond

 

[Jake D]

If you're using 110lb Cardstock, it can withstand the resin reinforcement as long as you're not forceful, and doesn't soak the thing in resin all at once. Just be sure to lightly brush the resin on in segments, so the dry parts can support the wet parts to resist it becoming deformed. Then, once the wet becomes dry, it can even better support the new stuff you resin.

If you feel that the piece you're doing has a lot of potential to deform, like the wide areas of a chest plate, or the brim of a helmet, you can go with the stick/skewer method. Once you have some layers of resin on it's a simple matter to remove the glue globs. Just scrape them out with your craft knife/razor knife. If that doesn't get 100% of it, you can take your dremel with a sanding wheel to zip it away. Just try to maintain a delicate touch, as you could put a whole through your model.

 

[theBR1T1SHkid]

Thank you very much for the help

 

[DBmike]

Before I embark on putting the resin on my helmet, can some tell me. Should the worse happen and I get some deformation can I hear gun it and bend it back to where its meant to be?

 

[GuitarMaster157]

Sure thing! Heat gun will probably even work once fibreglass is on, haven't tried that, though...

 

[DBmike]

Sure thing! Heat gun will probably even work once fibreglass is on, haven't tried that, though...

Cheers buddy! I'm surprised you understood most of my post with all the auto correct going on in there lol

 

[Merandil]

Sure thing! Heat gun will probably even work once fibreglass is on, haven't tried that, though...

I think it does. If the heat gun softends the resin it should work. As the firberglas only has the function not to let the resin crack by adding webby texture. If im correct fiberglass matting does not interact chemicaly with the resin...